Concerts with works by

György Ligeti

Debussy and Strawinski

Composed in 1913, "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring) is considered one of the key works of the 20th century. The premiere of the ballet in Paris caused a scandal. Only with great effort and by ignoring the boos from the audience, the music was able to be played to the end. The ballet music, which is mostly performed in concert today, shines with almost acrobatic rhythms and sonically exciting combinations of various instruments in a very large and elaborate orchestra. Alone, 20 woodwinds, eight horns, several trumpets and trombones, numerous percussion instruments, and a large string section create a tremendous sound impression. In contrast, Ligeti's "Lux Aeterna" seems to transport the choir alone to distant realms with its soundscapes. It is no wonder that Stanley Kubrick used this music in his monumental film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Sebastian Heindl Fenster zur Ewigkeit

Icons in Eastern Orthodox churches are seen as windows to eternity, connecting worshippers with saints. Similarly, J.S. Bach's music is iconic. Sebastian Heindl, organist at Berlin's Gedächtniskirche, connects Bach's baroque with contemporary compositions, including his own. Messiaen builds a celestial church, Pärt revisits Catholic Mass tradition, and Glass works with expanding figurations.

Concert de Midi et Demi avec Jiwan KIM et Daniil BOGDANOVSKI

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Víkingur Ólafsson / Paavo Järvi

Since the Elbphilharmonie opened, Estonian star conductor Paavo Järvi has been one of its permanent guests, enchanting Hamburg audiences at several concerts a year. Now the conductor of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen again comes to the Grand Hall with his second top orchestra, the venerable Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. They will be joined by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, who gave two brilliant renderings of Johann Sebastian Bach’s »Goldberg Variations« in Hamburg last season. On the programme is a new piano concerto by US composer John Adams, which was commissioned by the Elbphilharmonie among others. And the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich tackles two of the most famous modern orchestral pieces by György Ligeti and Witold Lutosławski, who skilfully combined folk music from Hungary and Poland with a thrilling orchestral sound in the 1950s.

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Paavo Järvi

With the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, its musical director the Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi, and the music of John Adams—which he sometimes performs alongside the composer—Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is on friendly turf.

Anna Vinnitskaya Schumann Klavierkonzert

Anna Vinnitskaya, acclaimed for her Schumann interpretations, performs his piano concerto with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich under Paavo Järvi at the Philharmonie Essen. The program also features Schumann's "Rhenish" Symphony and Ligeti's "Concert Românesc." A special children's introduction is offered during the first half.

Debussy and Strawinski

Composed in 1913, "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring) is considered one of the key works of the 20th century. The premiere of the ballet in Paris caused a scandal. Only with great effort and by ignoring the boos from the audience, the music was able to be played to the end. The ballet music, which is mostly performed in concert today, shines with almost acrobatic rhythms and sonically exciting combinations of various instruments in a very large and elaborate orchestra. Alone, 20 woodwinds, eight horns, several trumpets and trombones, numerous percussion instruments, and a large string section create a tremendous sound impression. In contrast, Ligeti's "Lux Aeterna" seems to transport the choir alone to distant realms with its soundscapes. It is no wonder that Stanley Kubrick used this music in his monumental film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Guest performance

Sebastian Heindl Fenster zur Ewigkeit

Icons in Eastern Orthodox churches are seen as windows to eternity, connecting worshippers with saints. Similarly, J.S. Bach's music is iconic. Sebastian Heindl, organist at Berlin's Gedächtniskirche, connects Bach's baroque with contemporary compositions, including his own. Messiaen builds a celestial church, Pärt revisits Catholic Mass tradition, and Glass works with expanding figurations.

Rising Stars / Quatuor Agate

Quatuor Agate drew its name from Brahms’ Sextet No. 2, dedicated to the composer’s second love, Agathe von Siebold. For this programme, it pairs Ligeti’s quite Bartókian Quartet No. 1 and Dvořák’s Quartet No. 13, a triumph among his chamber music.

Nikola Meeuwsen: Mendelssohn, Liszt and Schumann

For lovers of chamber music the Recital Hall is the venue of choice. You can hear the musicians breathe and you can practically touch them. This hall is also cherished by musicians for its beautiful acoustics and direct contact with the audience. In the Recital Hall you can hear the best musicians of our time. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Recital Hall for yourself!

Anna Vinnitskaya: A Piano Showcase

Pianist Anna Vinnitskaya owes her world career to her talent, skill, and love for music. Her teacher advised her to "play as you are." Now a professor, she happily shares her knowledge with the next generation. Vinnitskaya is offering her promising Hamburg piano students the opportunity to perform for the public in Essen.

Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Anja Bihlmaier

„The 'Concert Românesc' reflects my deep love for Romanian folk music and Romanian-speaking culture as such. The piece was immediately banned and only performed many decades later,“ says Ligeti about his 1951 work, which was banned at the time due to some dissonances that were considered undesirable. The Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov then takes his place among the Konzerthausorchester. In the Piano Concerto in G major from 1784, Mozart leaves old formal principles behind, including the fact that the winds are already frequently entrusted with solo tasks. The concert, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier, ends with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, which beautifully showcases the orchestral instruments in a lyrical and melodic manner - from the waltz-loving strings to the virtuoso flute dancing along in the last movement.

Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Anja Bihlmaier

„The 'Concert Românesc' reflects my deep love for Romanian folk music and Romanian-speaking culture as such. The piece was immediately banned and only performed many decades later,“ says Ligeti about his 1951 work, which was banned at the time due to some dissonances that were considered undesirable. The Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov then takes his place amog the Konzerthausorchester. In the Piano Concerto in G major from 1784, Mozart leaves old formal principles behind, including the fact that the winds are already frequently entrusted with solo tasks. The concert, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier, ends with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, which beautifully showcases the orchestral instruments in a lyrical and melodic manner - from the waltz-loving strings to the virtuoso flute dancing along in the last movement.

String Quartet

Chamber Music Concert

Quintessence, photo: Wojciech Grzędziński Before the Polish Composers Union commissioned Michał Spisak to write his Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon, he had left his homeland to hone his talent under the tutelage of the famous Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Who knows to what extent the opportunity to become acquainted with French chamber music of the first decades of the twentieth century influenced the character of this piece, full of elegance, airiness and attractive – due in large part to the forces – colour? ‘No, young man, not at all like that. More rhythm. It’s a folk dance’ – that is how Edvard Grieg supposedly admonished the young Maurice Ravel as he played one of the ageing composer’s dances. Among Grieg’s numerous arrangements of native melodies, the Four Norwegian Dances, Op. 35, originally composed for two pianos and later reworked – not only by the composer – for various forces, gained great popularity. Paul Hindemith’s modernist Kammermusik cycle, the eight pieces of which are aptly described as ‘modern Brandenburg concertos’, was intended for various combinations of instruments. Drawing on the material of the first piece, Hindemith subsequently composed a smaller work for wind quintet, termed Kleine Kammermusik. György Ligeti’s cycle of six miniatures (bagatelles) for wind quintet was first performed without the last piece (dominated by the interval of a second) in Budapest in 1953 because, as the composer himself supposedly commented, ‘totalitarianism doesn’t like dissonance’.

2 x hören

Composer Christian Jost as presenter, one or more musicians, a generally unknown contemporary work – and you, the listening audience. Afterwards you will you learn more about the music. It’s surprising how much your ears will be opened when you hear the piece for a second time.

Ligeti Strawinsky Brahms

Quatuor Agate

The Quatuor Agate pairs Ligeti's Bartók-inspired Métamorphoses Nocturnes with Ravel's masterful String Quartet.

Ligeti Strawinsky Brahms

Sào Soulez Larivière

Embark on a journey from the Baroque to the present day with Sào Soulez Larivière, as he brings electronics on board to explore a whole new side to the viola.

Klangzeit

Listening to live music is a wonderful experience. In the »Klangzeit« (Sound Time) concerts, you can close your eyes and escape everyday life for a moment. In the entertaining, hour-long concerts featuring the string players of Ensemble Resonanz, you can listen in a relaxed atmosphere, express yourself, sing along to well-known songs and move freely. Here, everyone can be themselves. This makes the format particularly suitable for people with dementia and their relatives. All venues are accessible.

Klangzeit

Listening to live music is a wonderful experience. In the »Klangzeit« (Sound Time) concerts, you can close your eyes and escape everyday life for a moment. In the entertaining, hour-long concerts featuring the string players of Ensemble Resonanz, you can listen in a relaxed atmosphere, express yourself, sing along to well-known songs and move freely. Here, everyone can be themselves. This makes the format particularly suitable for people with dementia and their relatives. All venues are accessible.

Klangzeit

Listening to live music is a wonderful experience. In the »Klangzeit« (Sound Time) concerts, you can close your eyes and escape everyday life for a moment. In the entertaining, hour-long concerts featuring the string players of Ensemble Resonanz, you can listen in a relaxed atmosphere, express yourself, sing along to well-known songs and move freely. Here, everyone can be themselves. This makes the format particularly suitable for people with dementia and their relatives. All venues are accessible.

Klangzeit

Listening to live music is a wonderful experience. In the »Klangzeit« (Sound Time) concerts, you can close your eyes and escape everyday life for a moment. In the entertaining, hour-long concerts featuring the string players of Ensemble Resonanz, you can listen in a relaxed atmosphere, express yourself, sing along to well-known songs and move freely. Here, everyone can be themselves. This makes the format particularly suitable for people with dementia and their relatives. All venues are accessible.

Klangzeit

Listening to live music is a wonderful experience. In the »Klangzeit« (Sound Time) concerts, you can close your eyes and escape everyday life for a moment. In the entertaining, hour-long concerts featuring the string players of Ensemble Resonanz, you can listen in a relaxed atmosphere, express yourself, sing along to well-known songs and move freely. Here, everyone can be themselves. This makes the format particularly suitable for people with dementia and their relatives. All venues are accessible.